Text structure is the way authors organize expository information for a specific purpose. Aside from the fact that it’s a required reading standard, it’s important to teach students to identify text structures in order to improve comprehension of a text.

Using quality texts as explicit models and teaching about the organization and keywords used with each type of structure helps develop student comprehension.

You know I love using picture books as mentor texts, and yes, picture books work well for this skill, too!

Teach Text Structures With Picture Books

Teaching students to identify text structure can be tricky simply because expository text is often more challenging to read (since it usually consists of content that is unfamiliar to the student).

Using nonfiction picture books for your mini-lessons to introduce (or re-teach/review) text structure is the perfect way to help students access the content of the text.

There are five overall text structures:

• chronology (sequence)
• comparison
• cause/effect
• problem/solution
• description

Keep in mind, in your mini-lessons, it’s important to discuss with students that when determining the text structure, it should describe the text as a whole, not just parts of it.

One way to help students identify the text structure is to use a guide like this one:

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If students cannot answer the question about the WHOLE text, it helps them see that text structure would not apply to the text. It also helps set them up for success with the comprehension of the text by being able to answer the question.

You probably noticed that “description” isn’t listed on the poster- that overall text structure is usually one they don’t have any issue identifying or comprehending, so I focused on the four trickier structures. 

Text Structure In Balloons Over Broadway

Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet is such a great nonfiction mentor text to teach about the man behind the magic of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

This is a great picture book to use when starting text structure lessons because the overall text structure is chronology (which tends to be much easier for students to identify).

Using the guiding questions, students should easily identify the chronology text structure. Be sure to remind students how the structure should describe the text as a whole, not just parts of it.

For example, in Balloons Over Broadway, even though Tony faced some problems in the book and was able to solve the problems, the book as a whole wasn’t about how to solve problems that occur during parades.

And although the author reveals the reason that we have a Macy’s Parade with large balloons, cause and effect was not the overall structure of the entire book.

Students should recognize that the overall structure of Balloons Over Broadway is chronology because it is the story of Tony Sarg growing up to make marionettes, then puppets, then using his expertise to create the balloons for the Macy’s Parade.

Continued Practice With Text Structure

Of course, spending time analyzing the other text structures is essential.

Since informational texts are typically more difficult simply because the students aren’t as familiar with the content, providing texts that access some prior knowledge tackles that hurdle.

In the weeklong mentor text unit I created for the book Balloons Over Broadway, students will read short passages providing even more information about the Macy’s parade. I wrote each passage with a specific (and obvious) text structure to help students analyze keywords and overall organization.

Reading Like Writers, Writing Like Readers

Viewing text structure as a craft can also improve students’ informational writing abilities.

A fun way to get students reading like writers and writing like readers is to engage in conversation over what is the same and different in a couple of images related to what you’re learning. Since the purpose of compare/contrast structure is to share similarities and differences of two things, this discussion is important because it will help spark the ideas they may want to write about for their assignment.

Below, you’ll see an example of a writing assignment in the Balloons Over Broadway Mentor Text Unit.

Pointing out some key elements they want to include when they compare, like the year, or the name of the balloon, in order to distinguish between them. For example, students shouldn’t say, “one has this, but one has that.” They need to clarify by saying, “The balloon from 1928 was filled with air and helium, but the balloon from 2008 was filled with just helium.”)

Text Structure In The Crayon Man

Another fabulous picture book to read when teaching text structure is The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons by Natascha Biebow. It is not only a fantastic example of a narrative biography, but contains the elusive problem/solution text structure! (This one is always hard to find good examples of in picture books.)

Just as I suggested with Balloons Over Broadway, after reading the mentor text, read each explanation of the text structures from the poster. Remind students how the structure should describe the text as a whole, not just parts of it. Help students recognize that the structure is problem and solution.

Point out how even though chalk, pencils, and crayons were compared in the book, the overall structure of the text is not compare and contrast… and although a few steps of making the colored crayons were shared, the text overall was not written with references to time, so it wouldn’t be a sequence structure either.

Note: Problem & solution and cause & effect can often be similar in structure – and can be tricky to identify! In fact, one might argue that The Crayon Man is cause & effect because of the chain of events that led to the crayons’ creation. However, there are several problems presented in the book that Edwin works to solve – and does – so this is a great example of the problem and solution text structure!

Reading Like Writers, Writing Like Readers

The Crayon Man is actually a “two for one” for your text structure lessons!

In the back of the book, the author includes an explanation with ordered photos to show how crayons are made. Students should easily identify the text structure: sequence/chronology.

The caption of each image tells how crayons are made. Because they are written as captions for numbered/sequential images, and not in paragraph form, transitions are not used or needed.

Perform a shared writing exercise with students: paraphrase the captions and add transitions to write one paragraph that explains how crayons are made. This help students practice varying the start of their sentences.

Depending on your class’s ability to paraphrase, etc, you might even write out the paragraph example ahead of time with blanks for transitions to explicitly practice using transition words in writing.

Looking for more information about teaching with picture books?

Check out the site library all about maximizing your time using mentor texts!

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A question I’m commonly asked by upper elementary teachers in regards to using mentor texts is just how to plan a schedule that can fit it all in… for some teachers, outside forces make it very difficult.

Strict mandates from your administration or bell schedules obviously cannot be helped. (If you have 45 minutes for ALL of your ELA standards –yes, there are teachers who have written to me asking for ideas in this type of time block –this post will probably not be for you…) I will do my best to offer some suggestions for even the most time-constrained schedules.

However, this post will also NOT be one of those dream scenarios that reading and writing gurus like to share in their books where you have 3.5 or 4 hours every day to devote to reading, writing, and grammar. (Where are these schools?!)

Using Mentor Texts

First thing’s first: the schedule suggestions I’m sharing with you incorporate the use of mentor texts. A mentor text is not simply a read-aloud. Although mentor texts should be read for enjoyment FIRST, that is not its only purpose. It is not an entire novel either. You can absolutely model skills from a chapter book, but a mentor text should be shorter in length so that it can be referred to throughout a week (or two or three!) for different skills. Think picture books, poems, songs, articles, chapters from a novel, etc…

Using a mentor text, or sometimes called “anchor text,” allows you to teach several skills, and gives students the opportunity to dive deep into comprehension over a longer period of time, as well as analyze it for craft.

Read more about why using mentor texts is the best way to maximize your teaching time.

In an ideal (but not dream) world, I’d hope for 2 or 2.5 hours to devote to ELA. Check out the “blueprint,” then keep reading for details on what I’d include!

Still too dreamy for you? Here is what a 1.5-hour schedule might look like.

Reading on the Schedule

I like to start an ELA block with the subject of reading.  Please don’t interpret this as “only teaching reading comprehension” during that time slot on the schedule though… I am a huge believer in integration. This is why I think an ELA block should be just that: A BLOCK. Not “reading time” and “writing time” but “studying the art of language time” – however, I know that many teachers must specify the subject for their plans, so I am breaking it down the best that I can for you here.

On that note, I also must mention the importance of content integration. It’s the best way to not only maximize your teaching time, but also to help students gain a better understanding of a science or social studies topic. When it came to mandated schedules in my classroom, I always did okay with the timing for ELA, but usually, Science and Social Studies were the areas that got the shaft (for a few years, I had only 30 minutes for BOTH… combined!) so I became quite the “integration expert” if you will. It was often the only way I could still help students learn about the history I had to teach, but then I also was able to teach reading standards, language skills, and writing craft!

Read more about content integration ideas here.

Comprehension First…

In my experience, I have found it’s essential for students to work with comprehending a text first before analyzing it for writing purposes. One way to help students understand a text, especially on a first-read, is to use Interactive Read-Alouds, or IRA. There are TONS of resources out there for this method, or you can take my one-hour course on it here!

Teaching vocabulary is one of the top skills to do with an Interactive Read-Aloud. It is the perfect way to explore words using context clues. I am a huge proponent of “throwing out the vocabulary list” and actually helping students understand how to use vocabulary in their speaking and writing, not just memorizing a definition that they can pick out from multiple choice at the end of the week.

You can read more about throwing out the list here.

In my classroom, I found IRA was NOT an exercise that should be done every day with every skill or mini-lesson, so I also incorporated gradual release (“I Do, We Do, You Do”) when introducing new skills or reviewing tricky skills. This is especially helpful when using a mentor text that students don’t all have a copy of in their hands.

Read more about using mentor texts with the gradual release model for mini-lessons here.

Independent Practice

Remember, the “You Do” part of gradual release means students need time for independent application. You might offer students another short passage to demonstrate their understanding of a skill, or you might give students a different section of the mentor text to use than the one you worked with for the “I Do, We Do” portion. (You could project a page or two on the wall/board for them to see, or photo-copy, or scan into a sharing app.)

During independent practice, I would aim to pull at least one small group to work on current skills, remediate past skills, or push to enrich skills. If you are hoping to run your ELA block in a workshop style, you might want to check out Launching Reading Workshop Tips and Printables in my shop!

Using More Than Mentor Texts

If you provide students with a “cold read” (something new to read while assessing their understanding) during their independent practice, I would encourage you to give them something of their reading ability. I know this can be controversial because students might “get a high mark” on something they read below grade level so does that really mean they are passing the grade? I think the question you always have to ask yourself is: “Am I assessing if they can read the text, or am I assessing if they can apply the standard that I just taught them?”

You can read more here about the importance of differentiating in reading when assessing.

Paired Texts

I really love pairing a picture book or a chapter book with an article or poem that deals with the same content (to go deeper on a topic) or theme (to allow students to compare, for example).

This doesn’t always have to be provided as a cold read though. You also might consider assessing students’ comprehension after doing a close read of a more rigorous text TOGETHER. This way, they have tackled tricky words, made notes about (and overcome with your help) confusions or misunderstandings, and can work to analyze or compare within texts rather than go in with no prior knowledge. (And remember, this is perfect for content integration, too!)

Read more about helping students learn to annotate articles during close reading in this post…

Or check out how to close read a poem here!

Of course, determining the meaning of a pair of passages or articles, and integrating information from the two, are skills that students are required to learn to do. You might take several days to analyze and dissect a pair of articles together by close reading and annotating, then allow students to respond to the texts through writing.

You can read more about using paired texts to teach AND assess here.

And on that note, let’s move into some writing, shall we?

Grammar on the Schedule

As I’ve said over and over already, integration is important for writing, too. As supported by the science of reading research, integrating grammar skills into writing is the best way to develop a student’s language and communication. (That’s right: something else to throw away… no more grammar workbooks!)

Read more about how to stop teaching grammar in isolation here.

Mentor Sentences

Mentor sentences tackle integrating your grammar skills in the most fantastic way. Students will see the RIGHT way to write, rather than the wrong like so many programs tend to do, and it only takes a few minutes each day to work through. Students will notice the good things about a sentence from a mentor text you are already using for another lesson. It’s the perfect way to begin your “writing time.” It helps get students’ brains into a mode where they are analyzing, revising, or even imitating a written piece of work.

Read all about how to begin the mentor sentence routine in your classroom here.

Writing on the Schedule

I just mentioned the mentor sentence coming from a mentor text you are already using… remember, you absolutely should be using a mentor text for as many standards as possible to truly maximize your teaching time. That means the same book you used for a reading lesson can also be used for a mentor sentence AND a writing lesson! No matter what genre you want students to write, you can find style, language, and organization patterns in mentor texts to use as models for students. Oftentimes, your mentor sentence lesson can even become your writing lesson for that day!

Check out how to make mentor sentences stick in writing in this post.

I don’t believe shared writing should only happen with the younger grades. It is just as beneficial to walk through the steps of planning, drafting, and revising writing for upper elementary students. Model your thinking and allow students to make suggestions. This also helps get those creative juices flowing for their independent practice.

Finally, don’t feel you must always have students writing a long “go through all the phases of the writing process” writing piece. Responding to literature, constructed responses to articles or paired texts, or even just quick writes to demonstrate knowledge on some content are just as important. Also, don’t forget to look at drafts of old writing pieces. Look for ways to improve them with newly learned skills. It’s so easy to “file them away” once they’re done, isn’t it? But think of all the opportunities to show growth!

I hope this was helpful for you!

Here are some more helpful links to check out when planning your ELA lessons:

Free Mentor Text Database

The Importance of Diverse Mentor Texts

Teachers know that using literature is the perfect way to introduce a lesson, but starting EVERY lesson with a new book would make it impossible to teach all of the required standards! That’s why it’s important to use mentor texts: a short text like a picture book (fiction or nonfiction), a chapter from a novel, an article, a song, or a poem, which can be used to teach several skills.

Mentor Texts

Using mentor texts is a best-practice strategy that maximizes your teaching time. You’ll have more time to teach because once you’ve read the book one time, you only need to re-read or refer back to parts of it for your different mini-lessons.

And best of all, a well-chosen mentor text will be enjoyable to read, and one you will want to return to over and over!

Choosing Mentor Texts

When choosing mentor texts, you’ll want to find models that inspire students to practice a few skills.

It’s typically easy to identify reading standards that can be addressed with a book, but make sure to step back and look at the book with a writing eye, too.

A good mentor text will always have writing and language techniques that students can imitate. (This is another reason why using picture books is SO important, even in upper grades!)

More Bang For Your Buck

Of course, it’s a bonus when you can tie in another content area, too!

It’s so great when you find a book that also incorporates some science, social studies, math, or even social-emotional skills!

A new favorite of mine does just that! You do not want to miss the book, Say Something! by Peter H. Reynolds. (This link is an Amazon affiliate link- if you use it to purchase the book, I earn a few pennies which I put toward book giveaways for teachers, but it doesn’t cost you anything extra!)

In this empowering picture book, students will discover the many ways that a single voice can make a difference with our actions, our words, and our voices.

This book can be used for SO many skills across all content areas!

Peter Reynolds writes this book almost entirely in conditional statements (these are sentences with dependent clauses beginning with “If,” followed by an independent clause with advice or directions). This is the PERFECT way to help students practice writing conditionals, as it’s been modeled over and over for them in this book.

There is also a VERY clear message in this book. Students can identify key details in the text to determine the message.

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And of course, what better way to reflect the message than to show students that even kids can make a difference when they say something? Allow students time to learn about famous young people like Malala Yousafzai, Greta Thunberg, or Mari Copeny, just to name a few. I like to provide an article that can be used for more reading comprehension practice, like the one below about Mari Copeny and the Michigan Water Crisis, but you can also let them practice their research skills to learn about them, too.

There is so much more that can be done with this book and topic!! I have an entire mentor text unit that provides a week of explicit lessons and activities for reading, writing, and grammar:

This unit is a part of my Mentor Text Club: Second Edition, where teachers get a weeklong mentor text unit once a month which THEY get to have input, and even WIN the mentor text for their classroom! This club is NOT a membership- it is a one-time purchase and then all 12 weeklong units are yours to use year after year.

Want even more ideas for mentor text integration?

I have a FREE database where I have listed all of the mentor texts I’ve used in my resources, as well as all the skills covered with those books. Check it out!